It is hard for people to relate to a good person, with no bad boy streak, no chequered past, no selfishness/arrogance/high school boy style fear/troubles to overcome before you eventually, maybe even reluctantly, become a hero...

I guess I just wish it wasn't.

When I look at Superman, in terms of his morality, his choices, his dedication to his 'idea' of being a superhero... I DON'T see something unrealistic.

Because I think, if I were given the chance, I would do the same. Or at least, I hope I would, and I can imagine how it would feel, how wonderful it could be and at the same time what a sacrifice it would be.

I mean, if I was to wake up in the morning with Super Powers, I would try so hard to follow Superman's example... not Spiderman's or Batman's or anyone elses. Because he's the best you can hope to achieve. He is the highest point of heroism a person can get IMO. There is no hero who is MORE heroic than him.

I guess most people just stop at the very idea of being a Superhero that has all that power with no history of abusing it, and think 'Come on... there's no way you wouldn't have used your x-ray vision to have a peak'.

As for his power's solving personal problems... I really don't see how

Exactly. I'm not too mad at the masses though. I'd wager most people nowadays don't know real life moral people personally, so Superman's choices, which they haven't been exposed to nearly as much as his power set, don't resonate.

I think, Smallville, though, *did* get some things very right, especially in the early seasons about Clark's journey from someone with high school boy-like fear, who has a very rational reaction to a hefty destiny. The plotting of the show was meh, but the early character arc was good. He did abuse his powers, and he learned, the hard way not to, and I think that's good for the character. He's not Jesus. He doesn't have to be sinless all his life, he just has to learn by the time he becomes an adult.

But even the cynics have some kernel of truth in their madness. Everyone has flaws, even good people, and in order to be relatable to the rest of us, who have flaws, one has to have them. I suspect that if we create an easily relatable character without flaws, people will find flaws in the character so that we can relate to them. And they will find them, because the character itself is created/written by flawed individuals. Superman is overprotective. Superman is sensitive on certain issues. Superman is loyal to a genuine fault. There are others you can add on without him being a 'bad boy' or having non flaws like 'works too hard' or external problems like 'lonely,' or worse, flaws an audience derives like 'Arrogance' or 'Aloofness.'

Without those genuine flaws, Superman is well equipped to handle mundane day to day stressors. Money constraints, time constraints, legal consequences, in and of themselves all meaningless for the Man of Steel.